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Paradime (3.5e Campaign Setting)/Races/Aletians
Aletians The Aletian people are an extremely devout and religious people, so much so that they often have a hard time dealing with those that do not approach the worship of the gods in the same pious manner as they do. Known best for their creation and destruction of theocracies most of the rest of Altinia has learned it is best to have little contact with Aletians unless trade or other circumstances require it. However while they may be difficult to get along with it is also well known that Aletians are some of the most versed people when it comes to matters of religion and religious history. Personality The most notable thing about most of those who stem from Aletian stock is that they are extremely devoted to the god that their particular theocracy follows. This would seem to lead to a very stodgy people, however this is actually not the case. Because Aletians follow different gods based on the region they are from (or inhabit) this creates quite a variety of personality types. Yet there are some things that all Aletians have in common. First they are generally strongly devoted to a single patron deity and view other dieties and their worshipers as backwoods yokels at best and outright heretics at worst. Also while they are always happy to meet other members of their religion they have a tendency to treat those who are not Aletian as dimwitted cousins. Finally given their certainty that they understand the ways and wills of the gods better than others they tend to come across as somewhat pompus and self righteous. There are, of course, Aletians who are not quite as pompus as others of their kind, but these tend to be those who have lived near another land or who have traveled extensively and learned that other people are not stupid. Physical Description Your average Aletian adult male stands anywher from 5'5" to 6'5" and can weigh anywhere between a measly 130 lbs to close to 200 lbs. As a people Aletian men tend to have thin but wirey muscled builds. For the most part Aletian men have black eyes and black hair though shades of brown of both eyes and hair are not uncommon. Most Aletian men have curly hair and curly beards (though many choose to shave their beards). Strangely Aletian females tend to range from 5'9" tall to 6'0" making it not at all uncommon for an Aletian woman to be taller than an Aletian male. Aletian females weigh in the range of 120 lbs to 160 lbs sharing the same thin builds as the males. Much like their male counterparts black hair and eyes are the most common However it is not unusual for a female to be born with green eyes and red hair (which is often considered an omen from a deity in most communities). Both Aletian men and women dress in accordance to the dictates of the theocracy they live in which means that there are few broad clothing styles among these people. The same is true in regards to how hair is worn and what manner of jewelry they adorn themselves with. Relations Again because religion is such a dominant part of the Aletian lifestyle it is difficult to give a general overview of their views and relations with other people and races. For the most part how they feel about other people and races is largely determined by what god they patronize and what god the other person patronizes. For the most part they will treat fellow worshipers of the same deity well if somewhat condescendingly while they will show nothing but contempt and even outright hostility to worshipers of enemy gods. There are those Aletians that are able to look past their religion though these are far and few between. Alignment Most Aletians tend to follow the exact alignment of their god, though some are a step removed. Also because of their often over zealous nature Aletians tend to act in very sterotypical ways in regards to their alignment. For example a Lawful Good Aletian is very likely to turn the rouge into law enforcement if he catches the rouge picking a pocket, while a Neutral evil Aletian will get along fine with everyone and then turn around and stab them all in the back if it gives them a greater benefit. Aletian Lands From the Northern edge of the Great Waste to the southern tip of the Gale peninsula the Southern Theocracies hold sway. Here the Aletians stand the strongest and shed the most blood as the various theocracies are seldom at peace with one another for very long. Because they exist in a constant state of strife with one another most Aletian communities have a strong central defensible building (such as a castle or keep) from which the rest of the community radiates. The homes of the wealthy tend be built out of stone and even the poor surround their homes with picket lines in an attempt to increase the defensibility of their land. Aside from a keen eye toward defensibility the only thing all Aletian dwellings have in common is a shrine to their patron Deity. In fact it is quite a competition in each community to see who can build the shrine that most closely reflects the will of their god. Religion The only constant thing that can be said about Aletian religion is that every Aletian is religious almost to the point of zealotry. Almost every Deity in the Altinian pantheon has a following among at least one group of Aletians. In fact religion is the dominant force in every Aletians life, even those who have ventured into other lands can be defined by this characteristic. Where most other people and races view religion as something that is part of their lives, the average Aletian views religion as the reason for life. Because of their devout nature and the central part religion plays in the roles of the Aletian people it goes without saying that holidays are universily observed among a particular gods following and that church attendence is extremely high. In fact Aletians who have been denied a visit to church for to long a period of time can become quite hard to deal with. Male Names Almanoth, Cered, Fenith, Garick, Jessith, Lyndel, Natith, Parad, Trevin. Female Names Berra, Gale, Isirria, Kendel, Morra, Racha, Sanna, Verkaja Surnames Aletian surnames are a direct link to the chosen deity of their family and theocracy for example Alamonth of Firsh is a male who follows the religion of Firsh, while a very simple way of choosing a surname it works for the Aletians. Adventurers Most Aletian adventurers are generally on some kind of religious pilgrimage or quest. On rare occasions an Aletian adventurer will be someone who no longer has a theocracy to call home and is making their way in the world as best they can. They make strong allies to those who share similar belief's but can be somewhat difficult to get along with in regards to those who are of a differing mindset. However, the more time and Aletian spends out in the rest of the world the more relaxed and tolerant of differences they may become. Racial Traits Same as human in PHB with the following changes. Because of their religious nature Aletians gain a +2 bonus to their Wisdom, however because they tend not to deal well with others who do not share their religion they recieve a -2 penalty to charisma. Due to the central nature of religion in their daily lives all Aletians gain religion as an in class skill and receive a +2 racial bonus to religion checks.